Archive for the ‘Business Services’ Category

Groupon, Inc. (GRPN) soars after announcement of new credit card payment system

Wednesday, September 19th, 2012

Shares of Groupon, Inc. (Nasdaq: GRPN) were up more than 10 percent from Tuesday’s closing price in morning trading on Wednesday after the company announced the launch of Groupon Payments, a new service that offers merchants a low-cost option to accept credit cards.

Groupon shares touched a high of $5.17 in morning trading on Wednesday, up from Tuesday’s closing price of $4.69.

According to a September 19 press release, Groupon Payments allows any merchant that runs a deal with Groupon in the U.S. to accept payments “at the lowest rates in today’s market place.” The press release stated that MasterCard, Visa and Discover transactions will cost merchants 1.8 percent and a 15 cent transaction fee, and American Express transactions will cost merchants 3 percent plus a 15 percent transaction fee.

“Our goal is to provide merchants with the most affordable and powerful tools to run and grow their businesses,” said Mihir Shah, VP Mobile and Merchant Products at Groupon in the September 19 press release. “With groundbreaking pricing and service, Groupon Payments does just that.”

The technology was initially tested int he San Francisco Bay area. And although the rates may seem attractive, Groupon faces stiff competition from EBay’s PayPal unit and Square, a service founded by Jack Dorsey (co-founder of Twitter).

Despite the competition, Groupon’s rates are somewhat lower than competitors’ rates. Square charges 2.75 percent per swipe, or $275 per month. PayPal charges 2.7 percent, the Associated Press reported.

Shares of Groupon are down about 50 percent over the past three months.

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MER Telemanagement Solutions Ltd. (MTSL) soars on improved second quarter results

Friday, August 17th, 2012

MTS Telemanagement SolutionsShares of Israel-based business support systems provider MER Telemanagement Solutions Ltd. (Nasdaq: MTSL) soared as much as 77 percent from Thursday’s closing price in morning trading on Friday after the company announced improved results for the second quarter of 2012 over the same period last year.

MTSL hit an intraday high of $2.84 per share on Friday, up from Thursday’s closing price of $1.60.

Revenue for the second quarter was $3.3 million, up from $3 million in the same period a year ago. Operating income from the quarter skyrocketed to $517,000, a 170 percent improvement over operating profit of $191,000 for the same quarter a year earlier. Net income improved to $460,000, or 10 cents per share, up from $229,000 or 5 cents per share in the second quarter of 2011.

“Our second quarter results represent continued improvements in our financial results and indicators as a result of our efforts to develop our Telecom Expense Management opportunities through partners, new customer acquisitions and expanding our existing customer base,” said Eytan Bar, CEO of MTS in an August 16 press release. “In addition, our company’s Billing and Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) activity as a managed service has grown and we were able to sign an additional managed service agreement with a new MVNO in the U.S. and we see other opportunities in this market. We are looking forward to improving both our top and bottom line performance.”

Shares of MTSL are up more than 50 percent over the past three months.

 

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Harleysville Group, Inc. (HGIC) soars on acquisition news

Thursday, September 29th, 2011

Shares of insurance company Harleysville Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGIC) surged almost 86 percent from Wdnesday’s closing price, in morning trading on Thursday after Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. confirmed that it will acquire Harleysville  for $760 million to expand its commercial insurance lines of business and add capacity on the East Coast.

Harleysville shares touched a 52-week high of $58.60, up from Wednesday’s closing price of $31.52.

“Harleysville is very pleased to join forces with Nationwide in a transaction that will enable us to expand our business for our independent agency partners and to enter important new markets from a position of even greater strength,” said Michael Browne, President and Chief Executive Officer of Harleysville in a September 29 press release.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Pennsylvania-based Harleysville Mutual would merge into Nationwide Mutual and Harleysville Group, Harleysville Mutual’s publicly traded subsidiary, would be merged with a newly formed subsidiary of Nationwide Mutual. Each public stockholder of Harleysville Group would receive $60.00 per share in cash. Upon closing, Harleysville Group would be a wholly owned subsidiary of Nationwide.

The transactions are subject to customary closing conditions, including, among others, approvals from stockholders of Harleysville Group; policyholders of Harleysville Mutual and Nationwide Mutual; the Pennsylvania Insurance Department; the Ohio Department of Insurance; and various other regulatory bodies. The transactions are expected to close in early 2012.

 

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Robert Half International Inc. (RHI) posts strong earnings, stock hikes

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE: RHI) shares surged 15.8% to $29.91 Thursday on strong quarterly earnings. Volume for the stock closed in on five million shares, or better than triple its daily average.

The staffing solutions company, based out of Menlo Park, Calif., put out a press release July 20 stating that, for the quarter ended June 30, 2011, net income was $36.4 million or $.25 per share, on revenues of $938.0 million. Net income for the prior year’s second quarter was $12.2 million or $.08 per share, on revenues of $769.1 million.

Robert Half CEO Harold Messmer Jr., was quoted in the release as saying, “This is the fifth consecutive quarter we have reported accelerating year-over-year growth rates for our consolidated revenues. Second-quarter revenues increased 22% from one year ago, and second-quarter income per share tripled from the year-ago period.

Messmer continued, “We saw broad-based, improving demand for our professional staffing services and Protiviti both in North America and abroad. Our permanent placement and technology staffing divisions were particularly strong. The pricing environment also continued to improve during the quarter, which contributed to higher gross margins.”

Founded in 1948, Robert Half International Inc., the world’s first and largest specialized staffing firm, is a recognized leader in professional consulting and staffing services.

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